wife

I mean, how can you not appreciate the hilarity of this clip from the Valentines Day episode of The Office? I often think of this clip when I think of what the day represents.

I have almost always said that Valentines Day is “not my thing” or that I don’t care much about it. And no, I am not grumpy because I had a bad experience or mad that my loved one doesn’t buy me expensive gifts (I would actually be a bit upset if he spent money on this day over our anniversary or a random surprise day).

I have never had a Valentines Day that was particularly wonderful (or terrible for that matter). My husband and I rarely exchange gifts, we simply try to spend some time together, using it as an opportunity to reconnect.

Aside from my personal experience, when I look at the commercialization of this holiday I do find it disgusting and therefore at times quite comical. The pressure is on for people to buy gifts and be overly romantic and when that doesn’t happen for someone, they must not be loved or appreciated. Because on this ONE day it is necessary to display love, otherwise, said love must not exist.

I leave you with the words of a sign I saw at my local flower shop: “Will she forgive you, if you forget her?” With that kind of pressure, man, those flowers are gonna be really special!

Greetings, my name is Vanessa. I am a Colorado native with a love for yoga, running, Ultimate Frisbee and the outdoors. I am a wife and mother of two small boys (ages 2 and 4). At the end of the Summer in 2013 I quit my very stressful full-time job at a non-profit human services organization to stay at home with my boys. For the record, I prefer Domestic Goddess to “Stay at Home Mom”, it’s much more palatable.

A brief religious history

Religion, Christianity in particular, has almost always been a very important part of my life. I was involved in Christian groups through church and school since I was in middle school. When I went to college I got very involved in an interdenominational Christian ministry through my university. Completely separate from my church involvement, I attended weekly worship nights, regular prayer meetings and if I wasn’t leading a weekly bible study, I was certainly attending one. I discipled multiple young women, studied and memorized scripture, and met with accountability partners to attempt to remain pure and “on the right path”. I could continue to share about the different aspects of my religious background but to sum it up a bit more quickly, God and Jesus were the center of my activities, my thoughts, my conversations, my life. If I wasn’t a true and devoted believer, nobody is.

A loss of faith

Well, you probably noticed that I speak of my religious devotion in the past tense. More than two years ago I began questioning my faith in a more serious way than I ever had before. I asked questions about God’s existence, the bible, the prevalence of many religions, the problem of evil and more. For the first time in my life I began to let go of my fears and my reasons for believing. I asked questions and didn’t claim to have the right answer anymore. Read more on my loss of faith.

Purpose of this blog

Now, here I am, a formerly VERY religious person, daughter, sister, wife and mom. I find myself without religion, God, church, fellowship, worship, prayer, biblical guidance, etc. I often find myself with a sort of identity crisis, feeling isolated, confused, and in need of an outlet. Hence, the purpose of my blog: to have a place to share about my life and discover my identity now that I find myself without god.

Blog topics

Considering that I spent the better part of my 30 years as a devout Christian, I think a lot about my former religion (and all that it entails) as well as my current lack of belief. So, while I certainly plan to blog about my former beliefs and my life after faith, I will also blog about my other interests such as: my kids and family, fitness and nutrition, natural skin and hair care, books, home organization and more!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back to visit again! ~Vanessa

This was Day 1 of the Zero to Hero Challenge. Learn more here. I realize I joined this challenge late…but better late than never 🙂